Having nothing else to do for two and a half hours, Mary Jane walked around the lab and worried.
Her thoughts drifted back to Pym's earlier words. She imagined Hank telling her husband when Mary Jane didn't make it back alive. His sanity was already hanging by a thin thread. If she didn't come back, it would surely push him over the edge.
Well, she thought resolutely. That was why she would not fail.
Jocasta seemed to detect her distress. "Do not worry, Mrs. Parker. Doctor Pym is tethered to our universe through a data stream to my own CPU. I am receiving a constant flow of electronic signals from our intrepid explorer."
Mary Jane indulged her curiosity. "How does that work with the time shifts?"
The robot cocked her head quizzically. "I do not perceive time the same way you do, Mrs. Parker."
"So he's okay? He'll be back on time?"
"Oh no, Mrs. Parker. Doctor Pym is rarely on time for anything."
"I guess that's one quirk I ought to be used to," MJ said. "So how late will he be?"
"He's taking extra time to calibrate the equipment. So approximately two hours."
"Two hours!" MJ exclaimed.
"Apologies," Jocasta said. "Two hours of his own time. From your perspective, it will only be a few additional seconds.
Mary Jane sighed and resumed pacing the room.
A short time later, an ant abruptly flew up next to her, and Hank Pym sprang from its back, growing to normal size. Immediately, he began fiddling with his equipment. Mary Jane tried desperately not to show her anxiety. After a few moments, she said, "Well, Hank?"
The scientist jumped as though he had just noticed her. "Oh. Mary Jane. My apologies. Interdimensional travel can leave one a bit out of sorts."
"Sorry. So did you find Harry's soul?"
"Yes. Well, I found a spirit organism with an electromagnetic signature similar to Harry's."
"Great. So do you have a way to catch it?"
"Well, that's the problem. A spirit organism is not something you can simply catch, like a stray cat. This particular soul is bound to the hell dimension by three distinct forces, like…soul tractor beams. Each of them must be disabled before the organism can be removed."
"So what are you saying? I have to disable tractor beams?"
"Well, yes, but no. They will be less like tractor beams and more like native creatures."
"Native creatures of the Hell dimension."
"Yes."
"So, what? Three of the 'demon-like creatures,'" Mary Jane made air quotes with her fingertips. "How powerful are they?"
"Well, the average denizen of this particular hell has the approximate strength and intelligence of a wild cat in Earth terms. It's the more intelligent ones that we'll want to avoid."
"And they are?"
"Servants of Mephistopheles, the Class 2 Hell Lord that presides over our target dimension."
"Mephistopheles." The word came naturally to the theatre major.
"Mephistopheles has made frequent attempts to gain power in our own dimension. Reed's records from the Silver Surfer contain accounts of several attempts by the demon to gain ownership of the Herald's soul. The testimonies of John Blaze blame Mephistopheles for infecting him with the demonic parasite, Zarathos."
"So he's very powerful," Mary Jane said. "If he can travel between dimensions."
"Yes," Pym said. "But that might actually work to our advantage. Mephistopheles's ambitions are so wide-ranging, his total attention is rarely focused on the day-to-day management of his hell. We may be able to neutralize the demonic forces that bind Harry's spirit organism, contain it, and return to our own dimension before Mephistopheles notices."
"Really?" Mary Jane said. "So you just happen to have soul-capturing equipment in this lab?"
"Oh yes, of course!" Hank said brightly. "I began work on my own prototype proton packs after the release of the film Ghostbusters. Have you seen it?"
"Um, duh Hank," MJ said cheerily.
Pym led her to another corner of the lab, where he dug out a dusty, old box. From inside, he removed some high-tech looking backpacks.
"While I do have the capturing devices lying around, unfortunately I will need a few hours to brew fresh ammunition for the offensive weapons."
"Offensive weapons? Like guns?" MJ said. "Why would you brew ammunition?"
"This particular ammunition was inspired by John Blaze. He was kind enough to let me analyze objects he had charged with hellfire."
"So now," Mary Jane said, a bit stunned. "You brew your own synthetic hellfire."
"It will only take a few hours. I know you are anxious to begin the expedition, but proper preparation will be the key to our survival."